FullMetal Alchemist: The Next Homunculus
by The New Pyro FMA
Summary: Winry, Ed and Al stopped short at the sight that met them – two young children collapsed on the porch ragged: weary, and covered in blood. Has Ed and Al's gruesome past repeated itself? Find out! R&R!
1. Intro

**A/N: Yusuke343: Hi everyone! If you are reading this fic for the first time, Welcome. If you have followed this fic from the review replys or PM's that were sent to you, Welcome back! Either way thanks for taking time to read this fic. Now, as many of you may not know this account is not mine alone. This is a joint account owned by myself and The New Fullmetal Alchemist. To her I would like to offer a huge thanks because as both my Beta and my co-author, without you this fic would go no where fast! With that I will turn things over to TNFMA and we'll see if she has anything to add. The New Fullmetal Alchemist: Thank you, Mr. Yusuke! Hello, there, everyone! In case you didn't know, I'm The New Fullmetal Alchemist (but you can call me The New FMA!) - I don't really have much to add, other than thank you again to all old readers, and welcome to all new ones! Also, special thanks to "Someone" who first mentioned our previous little "error" - we really appreciate it! Well, I hope that everyone likes this story! It's one of my personal favorites - but I could be biased, of course! Hahaha! Please read, enjoy and review! We hope to see you in future chapters! **

_Disclaimer: Neither of us own FMA_

"So, Winry, how long do you think it'll take to fix?"

"Hmmm…" Winry Rockbell said thoughtfully as she observed Edward Elric's auto-mail arm. "Well, the damage doesn't look too bad… it should only take a couple of hours, tops."

Alphonse Elric sighed. "Brother, why do you have to be so reckless?"

"Yeah, Ed… tells us why," Winry added.

"Errr..." Ed mumbled, avoiding eye contact with Winry or his brother.

Winry waved a wrench in front of his face threateningly. Ed panicked.

"Well, you see, Mustang - "

"Damn it, Edward! Why is it that you always have to pick a fight with that man?" Winry screamed as she began to throw tools and spare auto-mail parts at the blonde State Alchemist in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ed screamed as he ducked behind the couch. "I won't do it again, honest!"

The barrage of metal objects stopped. Ed slowly poked his head up from behind the couch. Winry stood there, glaring at him. "And…?" she prompted menacingly.

"Eh-heh-heh…" Ed laughed nervously as he sweat-dropped, "I won't trash my auto-mail again - I promise!"

"Good! Now get over here!" Winry said brightly as she pointed to a chair near her work-bench. Ed breathed a sigh of relief as Winry began cheerfully fixing his arm, bickering with him the entire time about proper auto-mail maintenance. Alphonse sighed and shook his head. He knew just as well as anyone that it wouldn't be the last time Edward trashed his auto-mail… A sudden knock at the door interrupted them.

"I'll get it," the elderly Pinako Rockbell said as she made her way towards the door.

"Ok, Grandma," Winry replied as she continued to work on Ed's arm.

Pinako opened the door and gasped. "Oh, my! Winry, come here, quick!"

Winry, Ed and Al rushed over at Pinako's frantic words. They stopped short at the sight that met them - two teen-aged children collapsed on the porch, ragged, weary, and covered in blood.

**A/N: The New FMA: So, what did everyone think? Bet we really have your attention now, huh? Haha! If I'm correct, chapter 1 should be up within a day or so! Hope to see you there! Please review! Yusuke343: Hehe..thats right well..kinda anyways...The next chapter will be up within a few days depending on how many reviews we get. Lol..sorry but I think thats for the best and Im sure my partner agrees with me.**


	2. Their Past Revisited

**A/N: Hi again everyone. First thing is first. Thanks to all of three of you who reviewed. I'm so pleased with them that im gonna update earlier than planned. Im glad to know that people like our fic so much. Yusuke343**

_Disclaimer: I dont own FMA and as far as I know neither does The New FMA_

"Please… help… us…" the young girl said weakly before fainting.

"Urgh… No! Jacque!" the boy cried out, face contorted with pain. Al ran forward and scooped the boy up while Pinako and Winry tended to the girl, the one called Jacque.

"What the hell?" Ed asked softly, frozen in place and staring at the spot where the two children had been. He suddenly snapped back to his senses and turned to help Pinako and Winry take the girl to a bed upstairs. After making sure that the girl was resting soundly, the three came back down-stairs to find Al trying to comfort the young boy.

"No… Jacque…" the boy groaned, thrashing his head from side to side as if having a bad dream. Suddenly the boy opened his eyes and looked around at the four figures huddled over him. "Jacque… please… help…"

"It's ok," Winry hushed him, "she's resting upstairs. Now please, tell us, what happened to you two? Where are you from? Did someone hurt you? Or - "

The boy gave a raspy laugh. "No… no one hurt us… no one… but ourselves…" he wheezed before gritting his teeth in pain. Winry, Al, and Pinako looked on worriedly as the boy tried to continue speaking.

Ed's mind raced; he broke out in a sweat and his face paled. He couldn't take it anymore… "What happened?" he asked the boy harshly, surprising everyone in the room.

The boy laughed again. "I… guess… this is why… human transmutations… are forbidden."

Ed's mind snapped; his eyes widened. "No…" he said shakily, clutching at his head, "No, not again… NO!" Ed shouted as he began to shake violently.

"Brother!" Al grabbed a-hold of Ed, trying to calm him.

Winry's eyes filled with panic. "What do you mean? Are you trying to tell us that you attempted human transmutation?"

"Yes… Nngh!" the boy wheezed before another spasm of pain took over.

"He's missing an arm and a leg…" Pinako harshly observed. She glanced over at Edward, who was crying silently in a corner of the room. "Hurry, Winry, let's get this boy into the operating room!" Pinako told her granddaughter. "Al, you carry him in!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Al said as he carefully took the boy into his arms and left the room, Winry following right behind.

Pinako gave a dark look before sighing and turning to head towards the operating room as well. She placed a hand on the door. "Edward…" she said to him, although her eyes were focused straight ahead.

Ed, still trembling slightly, looked up towards her.

"It's going to be alright…" and with that she opened the door and proceeded towards the operating room. She sighed. It had been almost 5 years since she had needed to do a surgery such as this, and she had hoped that the first time would have been the last…

_A few days later, at the Rockbell residence…_

"Nhhh…"

"Ed, look! He's finally coming to!" Winry called out excitedly from the other room.

Ed ran over and looked down at the red-headed, slowly awakening boy. "Hey, there," Ed said softly, "how're you feeling?"

"Not too bad… OW!" the boy shouted as he tried to sit up. He looked at his right side in alarm. "What the hell? Where's my arm? What is this?" he shouted, panicking.

"It's ok! It's ok! We fitted you with auto-mail, that's all! I know it hurts, but please, you have to calm down!"

The boy stopped shouting, but continued to breathe heavily. "But… why?" he asked, searching Winry's face for an answer.

"Well, when you got here your arm and leg were missing. You told us that you had attempted a human transmutation," Al told him.

"Don't you remember anything from the other night?" Ed asked, concerned.

The other night? the boy thought. "How long was I out?" he asked.

"Two days," Winry told him, putting a hand to his forehead and noticing satisfactorily that his fever had gone down.

"Oh," the boy said, slightly embarrassed from both being out cold for two days and from Winry's touching him.

"So, now that you're feeling better, I have a question for you," Ed said, leaning against the wall with arms crossed, head bent, and eyes hidden by his golden bangs.

"Err, yeah, shoot," the boy said nervously, trying to read Ed's expression.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Ed shouted, grabbing at the boy's shirt collar.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked darkly, blue eyes narrowed. His brow became beaded with sweat from the searing pain in his shoulder caused by being physically pulled upwards by Edward.

"I'm assuming that you're an alchemist?" Ed asked with a nasty grin.

"Yeah…" the boy agreed through gritted teeth, red hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.

"THEN YOU KNOW THAT HUMAN TRANSMUTATION IS FORBIDDEN!"

"Brother, please, stop - " Al cried out, but was quickly cut off by the shouting.

"YEAH, SO WHAT? I HAD A GOOD REASON!"

"OH, YEAH? WELL YOU KNOW WHAT? THERE'S NEVER A 'GOOD REASON' TO ATTEMPT A HUMAN TRANSMUTATION! I HAD TO LEARN THAT THE HARD WAY!"

"I tried to bring my brother back…" the boy said in a gravely serious tone.

Edward stopped short. "I see…" he said as he slowly let go of the boy.

"Just like you, Brother," Al added softly.

"So, Al…" the boy asked through labored breaths, "You're… a soul attachment?"

"What? Me?" Alphonse asked, genuinely surprised. "But-but… how did you know?"

"Your voice… it's hollow…"

"Oh…"

"Hey," Ed asked, avoiding the boy's blue eyes, "what's your name, anyway? We didn't catch it… before…"

The boy blinked. So… he's not mad at me? he thought. A minute of silence went by.

"Well?" Ed prompted gruffly, hazarding a quick glance at the boy.

The boy laughed at Ed's caution. "My name's Jayson," he said with a smile.


	3. Whats next?

**A/N: Hi again everyone Yusuke343 here and on behalf of The New FMA and myself, We want to say thanks to all of you who have reviewed thus far. The next chapter wont be out for AT LEAST 2 days. Maybe more. We need a little more time to get more chapters fixed from their original version.**

_Disclaimer: Neither of us own FMA._

Hey, Jayson, my name's Edward - but please, just call me Ed," Ed said with an apologetic smile as he offered his left hand. Jayson shook it. "But you do realize what you did, right?" Ed asked, once again serious.

"Well, if by that you mean that I unleashed a new homunculus, then yes."

"So," Ed said, slightly surprised, "you are aware of their presence among us."

"Yeah," Jayson said darkly, gaze distant, as if looking into the past.

"Well, that sure makes things a bit easier…" Ed sighed as he sat down in a chair by Jayson's bed.

"Say," Jayson said, blinking and looking around the room, "where's Jacque?"

"She's in the shower," Winry said as she straightened his bed sheets.

"Is… is she… ok?" Jayson asked nervously, face creased with concern.

"Other than a few cuts and bruises, she's fine," Winry told him with a smile.

Jayson sighed with relief then sunk back down into the pillows on his bed. He was starting to feel much better…

"Are you two related?" Alphonse asked curiously.

"Yeah, we are - she's my little sister - she's two years younger than me," Jayson said warmly.

"What about your parents? Where are they?" Al asked. Having not had parents very long himself, he was always eager to hear about other peoples' families.

"Dead…" Jayson said bluntly. "They died a long time ago."

The young girl, refreshed from her shower and toweling her blonde hair dry, stopped short as she heard her brother's voice. She quietly made her way towards the open door - no one noticed her.

"So, how have you two survived all these years, then?" Ed asked.

"Three," Jayson corrected, "I did - rather, I do - have a brother, you know."

"Err, right, sorry," Ed mumbled. "Anyway, how did you three manage to get along without your parents?"

"Alchemy," Jacque said as she walked through the door and made her way to her brother's bed. Ed fell out of his chair in surprise - he certainly hadn't expected her to pop out of nowhere like that…

"Feel better, Jacque?" Winry asked, laughing.

"A little, thank you," Jacque said with a smile.

"I'm so glad to see you're safe!" Jayson told her.

"Are you kidding? You were the one without an arm or leg!"

"Brother," Al whispered as he leaned in towards Ed, his voice filled with amusement, "who do they remind you of?"

"Yeah, I know…" Ed whispered back solemnly.

A knock at the front door silenced them all.

"Come in!" Winry called out as she got up to greet the guest.

"Hello, everyone, hope I'm not interrupting," a blonde-haired woman in a military uniform called out.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Alphonse called out cheerily.

Ed stood gaping in the doorway. "Hello…" What on Earth is she doing here? he thought.

"Fullmetal, sir!" Hawkeye said with a salute, "I am under orders from Colonel Mustang to escort you back to Central, sir!"

Edward groaned.

"Err… who is that?" Jayson asked.

"Oh, yeah, Lieutenant Hawkeye, this is Jayson and his sister Jacque," Ed said quickly, "now why exactly does the Colonel need me all of a sudden? I thought I was on vacation!"

"Hello, Jayson; hello, Jacque," the Lieutenant said with a small bow before turning towards Edward. "Why, Edward, did you forget?" she said quietly.

Edward gulped. He didn't like that tone of voice. He racked his brain for something, anything, that would prompt the Colonel to send for him. Suddenly, with a gasp followed by an even louder groan, he remembered.

"The State Alchemy exams…!" He sighed. "Man, this is going to be a drag…"

"Jayson!" Jacque whispered hurriedly to her brother, blue eyes wide. She tugged on his shirt sleeve.

"I know, Jacque," he whispered back. "Um, Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Jayson called out apprehensively.

Hawkeye turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Um, if it's ok with you, could we come to Central, also?"

"Why?" Ed asked quickly, arms folded.

"We were originally planning on taking the State Alchemy exams now, anyways, but then… well, you know…" he explained nervously, fidgeting with the bed sheet.

"Yeah, I know," Ed sighed. "Although I really don't think that you two want to be dogs of the military, especially now."

"We have our reasons, Ed." Jayson told him, looking him straight in the face.

Ed met Jayson's gaze, reading the look in the boy's eyes. So much like himself…

"Sir?" Hawkeye asked quietly.

"Fine," Edward sighed eventually. "It's ok with me if it's ok with you, Lieutenant."

"But Edward! They still need time to recuperate! Especially Jayson! He just had auto-mail surgery!" Winry shouted, Alphonse nodding his agreement.

"I'm actually feeling much better, Winry!" Jayson reassured her as he shakily and painfully got to his feet - one foot now being auto-mail, of course.

Ed just shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, then, it's settled," Lieutenant Hawkeye told them. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. I'll go phone the Colonel now to let him know."

"Yes!" Jacque squealed as she high-fived her brother. Unfortuantely, without thinking, Jayson did it with his auto-mail arm.

"OWWW!" Jayson screamed. He howled with pain. Winry and Alphonse rushed over to tend to him as Ed sighed and left to pack. Lieutenant Hawkeye just chuckled as she dialed the Colonel's office to let him know that she and Edward - along with a few others - would be arriving on the next morning's train.


	4. Central

**A/N: Ok...here it is the long awaited chapter 3! This will probally be the last update for a bit cause these chapters were all pre-typed up and me and TNFMA got a bit more work to do before the next chapter will be released. Anyways I hope you like it. **

_Disclaimer: Neither of us own FMA_

"Welcome to Central Military Headquarters, guys," Edward said somewhat proudly as he swept his hand out, showing off the large white building's grandeur.

"Wow…" Jayson and Jacque said in unison, staring wide-eyed and rooted in place.

"Fullmetal?" Hawkeye asked, turning towards Edward. "If you don't mind sir, we should really get going - the Colonel is waiting for us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know…" Ed sighed as he turned to follow the Lieutenant. "See you guys later…" he called out as he waved a hand.

Jayson blinked. "Wait a minute - what the hell are we supposed to do, then?" He demanded, hands on hips.

Ed turned around, surprised. "Gee, I never really thought of that… Hmm… Hey, I got it! Al, why don't you take them and show them around Central a bit?"

"Yeah, sure!" Al nodded with a clank, excitement in his hollow metal voice. "Come on, Jayson, Jacque! We'll go look around until Ed's done visiting with the Colonel! We'll take you guys to sign up for the exam once he's finished."

"Alright, Al!" Jacque said with a smile.

Jayson sighed. "Ok… I guess…" This wasn't what he had had in mind…

"Alright then, see you guys later!" Ed said as he turned to leave again.

"Bye, Brother! And don't be too rude to the Colonel!" Al called out. Ed only waved a hand in response. "Come on, you guys, let's get going - there's a lot to see in this city!"

Al, Jacque, and Jayson began to make their way down the side walk when Ed, walking up the steps to the HQ building with Hawkeye, suddenly stopped. He slapped himself on the fore-head. "Idiot!" he said out loud to himself. "You forgot to tell them!" And with that he tore back down the front steps and after the other three.

"Fullmetal, sir! Edward! WAIT!" Hawkeye shouted futilely. Her words fell on deaf ears…

"Jayson! Jacque! Wait!" Ed puffed as he ran to catch up. "AL!" he finally shouted.

The large suit of armor stopped in its tracks and turned around. "Brother? What's wrong?"

"There's… something… I forgot… to tell you… guys…" Ed managed as he tried to catch his breath, clutching at a stitch in his side, a product of his long sprint with no warm-up.

Jayson and Jacque looked at each other quizzically and then back at Edward.

"What is it, Ed?" Jayson finally asked.

Ed straightened up. "You shouldn't need to use transmutation circles to perform alchemy any more," he said simply.

Jacque and Jayson just stared.

"Oh, yeah! That's right, Brother! They shouldn't have to anymore!" Al said, the meaning of what Ed's words dawning on him.

"What do you mean?" Jayson asked, eyeing Edward warily. "How are we supposed to perform alchemy without circles?"

Ed grinned. "Like this!"

"CLAP!"

"ZZZT!"

"SHING!"

A gleaming metal blade now replaced Edward's right auto-mail hand.

"Wow!" Jacque exclaimed.

"Cool!" Jayson shouted, face lit up with a smile. "So we can do that now, too? Clap our hands and transmute, I mean."

"If you've seen the Gate, at least," Ed told him, suddenly serious. "Jacque?" he asked solemnly. "There's something I've been wondering about…"

"What?" she asked apprehensively.

"How were you not attacked by the Gate? You helped in the human transmutation, didn't you?"

"Yes… I did…" she said softly.

"I stood in front of her to shield her from the Gate," Jayson told Edward quickly. "I… I wasn't sure if it would hurt us or not… So I had to protect her - just in case…"

Ed nodded slowly.

"When it took my arm," Jayson continued, gently clutching his new auto-mail, "I knew it would go after her next… So I stood my ground - to protect her! As a result, I lost both an arm… and a leg…"

"I see…" Edward said softly, mulling it all over. After a few minutes of silence, Ed slapped himself on the forehead (again), making everyone jump. "I almost forgot again! Jacque, Winry asked me to give this to you before we left Resembool," he told her as he handed her a paper-wrapped package.

"Oh! My staffs!" she said as she carefully took the package from Edward. "Thanks, Ed!"

"No problem!" he said, smiling.

"Fullmetal? Fullmetal, sir!" Hawkeye said as she rounded the corner, coming fast - and right towards Ed…

"Uh-oh…" Edward breathed.

"Sir," Hawkeye said sternly, every word weighted, "I think that it's about time that we go and see the Colonel, don't you?" she gave him a steely look that quickly turned to one of confusion and concern. "Edward, what happened to your forehead? It's so red…"

"Hahaha! Oh, nothing, nothing, just me being clumsy! Haha!" Ed laughed sheepishly. He quickly stopped, however, when he noticed that the Lieutenant wasn't buying it. "It'd be in my best interest to go now, huh, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir, that's correct…"

"Right… Well, then, I guess I'll be seeing you guys later! Bye, Jayson! Bye, Jacque! See you later, Al - "

"NOW, sir!" Hawkeye said fiercely as she pulled out a loaded gun and put it to the back of Edward's head. Ed distinctly heard the safety click off…

"Ok, it's been great you guys, see you later!" He shouted before running off in the other direction, Hawkeye in hot pursuit.

Jayson and Jacque laughed. Al just sighed.

"Is she serious? She wouldn't really shoot him, would she?" Jacque asked, looking up at Al with a face filled with bemusement and mild concern.

Before Al even had a chance to answer a loud "bang" was heard - the unmistakable sound of Riza firing off a round…

"Oh, shit, I think she is serious!"

"COLONEL!" they heard her bellow, followed by the sounds of more shooting.

Al chuckled as he turned to continue walking down the street. "Looks like the Colonel tried to get out of his paperwork again!"

Jacque and Jayson laughed somewhat nervously as they followed Al into the main part of town, both secretly hoping that the Colonel Roy Mustang that Edward had been talking about was nowhere near as frightening as Lieutenant Hawkeye…


	5. Dining Out

**A/N: Hi again everyone Yusuke343 here again..TNFMA has been to lazy to write anything to you guys besides whats in the into lol..her words..not mine. Anyways..If you really like this fic you should PM her and tell her what a good job she is doing. I have this chapter and the next ready so they will be released soon.**

_Disclaimer: Niether of us own FMA_

"So, sis, where do you wanna go first?"

"Umm… I know! How about we go find something to eat!"

"Grrgle…" Jayson looked down at his stomach in embarrassed dismay. "Heh. Guess I'm pretty hungry…"

Alphonse laughed. "I think that's a great idea, Jacque! Follow me! I know a great place! Ed eats there all the time!"

"Ok!" Jacque said cheerfully as she opened the package that Edward had given to her.

Jayson laughed. "Don't tell me you still use those things?"

"You know just as well as I do that this is the easiest way for me to perform alchemy!" Jacque said huffily.

"Why did you give them to Winry, anyway?" Alphonse asked as he led the way down Central's main street.

"I didn't - I had to ask her to make me new ones," she said solemnly as she placed the staffs in an x-shaped holster on her back.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Alphonse stopped and pointed to a small restaurant. "Well, here it is," he said.

Jayson sniffed the air. "Smells good! Come on, Jacque, let's go in and eat! I'm starving!"

"Grrrgle…"

"It sounds like it!" Jacque said through stifled giggles.

Alphonse let out a hollow, metallic laugh. "Well, you guys go on in and eat!"

Jacque turned around in surprise. "Aren't you hungry, too?"

"Jacque…" Jayson said quickly.

"No, no, it's alright!" Alphonse reassured quickly. "In this body I have no need for food, and I don't want to make you guys uncomfortable or anything, so I'll just walk around for a bit - give you guys some time to yourselves."

"Are you sure?" Jayson asked.

"Yeah. And don't worry, I'll be nearby, so if anything happens, just call me! After all, Ed would kill me if anything happened to you two!"

"Ok, then! We'll see you in a bit!"

"Alright!" Alphonse waved as he walked slowly down the street, peering in at shop windows as he went.

The siblings walked into the crowded resteraunt and looked around.

"So, Jacque - where do you wanna sit?"

"I don't know…" she answered. "Where can we sit…?"

"Good question…"

"Hello, and welcome!" a friendly-looking hostess called out as she made her way over to them. "I'm sorry for the wait - how can I help you?"

"A table for two, please," Jayson told her.

"Of course! Right this way, please," she said with a smile before battling her way through the mob of people and over to a corner table by the window.

"Oh, good!" Jacque said as she sat down, "Now Alphonse'll be able to see us!"

"Thank you," Jayson said as the hostess handed them both menus before turning and walking away. "Hmm… what to get…" he mused.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they contemplated their orders.

"Hello, there! What can I get for you?" a waiter asked them a little while later.

"Hello - I'll just have some tea and rolls, please," Jacque said politely as she handed back her menu.

"Very good - and for you, sir?"

"Erm… how about the steak?"

"Alright - anything to drink for you, sir?"

"Oh, yes, please! Tea would be great!"

"Of course. I'll be back with your orders shortly."

A few hours and some pleasantly full stomachs later, Jacque and Jayson had finished and paid for their meal.

"Aaah, that was good!" Jayson sighed with a grin as he slowly stood up to go - his auto-mail still hurt him a bit…

"Well, I suppose it's about time that we find Alphonse and head back to Central Headquarters, huh?" Jacque asked as she too got up from the table.

"Yeah, I guess. We still need to get ready for the alchemy exam - the Practical Skills part starts later this afternoon."

"You're right… I hope they let us take it, even though we missed the first part…"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU WON'T SERVE ME?"

Jacque and Jayson swiftly turned their heads to see a man shouting at the hostess. He had a fairly normal appearance - tall, skinny, spiky hair… Only two things set him apart from most of Central's thugs - the large sword he wielded, and his strikingly red eyes…


	6. The fight

**A/N: Hi everyone. Yusuke343 here. I hope at least someone pm'd TNFMA to tell her what a good job she is doing with the chaps. Soon..very soon these chaps will get a bit longer and a bit more mine lol..I will explain what that means later. Anyways enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: Neither of us own FMA...although Yusuke343 does own the two alchemists in this fic.._

The hostess, visibly shaking, tried to hold her ground. "I'm sorry, sir, but you always cause trouble whenever you come here."

"LIKE HELL! I'LL KILL YOU!" he shouted as he brandished his gleaming, silver sword.

"Jayson! We have to help her!" Jacque whispered to her brother urgently.

"Right!" he nodded to her as he took a sword hilt from his pocket. "Hey, you!" he shouted to the thug.

The man turned, glaring daggers at Jayson. "Who? ME?"

"Yeah. You." Jayson responded coolly, keeping any nervousness he had well hidden.

"What the HELL do you want, kid?" the man snarled.

Jayson ignored him. "Put away that sword and get out of here. Or else…"

"Or else what?" he challenged sarcastically. His blood-red eyes looked down to Jayson's hand… "Are you going to hit me with a hilt?"

Jayson gave him a level stare. "I'm warning you…"

The man stood for a bit, taken aback. Then he threw his head back and let forth a harsh, outrageous laugh. "You've got to be kidding me! What the hell could you possibly do to me?"

"Last time - leave peacefully, or else…"

"Make me! I DARE YOU!" the man shouted before charging madly towards Jayson, disregarding the people scrambling to get out of his way.

"JAYSON!" Jacque screamed.

"I warned you…" Jayson sighed. Suddenly he narrowed his eyes, squeezed the jet-black sword hilt tightly, triggering a red transmutation circle craftily hidden amongst the hilt's gold swirls and symbols etched throughout; having activated the array, a shaft of ice appeared, gleaming dangerously where a blade would normally reside.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the man screamed, skidding to a stop.

"You asked for it!" Jayson said with a shout as he charged towards the man, bringing the icy blade down with a deadly hiss.

"AAARGH!" the man roared as Jayson's transmuted sword of ice cut through his sword and then through his flesh.

Jayson stared down coldly at the man who was now cowering in pain on the floor. "I'm not going to say it again - leave. While you still have your life…"

The man's lip trembled as he gasped violently for air. "Y-you… YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF ME!" he screamed before quickly staggering to his feet and dashing through the crowd and out the door, running into a large suit of armor along the way…

"Jayson, you did it!" Jacque squealed with delight.

"Jayson! Jacque!" Alphonse called out in alarm, completely ignoring the fugitive who had just run out the door. Al tried his best to get through the crowd, which was now clamoring happily all over Jayson.

"Thank you so much, sir!" the waitress said, still quite shaken up from the encounter.

"No problem! Really!" Jayson said politely.

"Oh, no! Jayson, come on! We have to get going now! We're about to miss the exam!" Jacque whispered urgently to him.

"Right," he nodded. He looked up and saw Alphonse at the back of the crowd, waving to catch his attention. "Look, there's Al! Come on, sis, let's go!"

Jayson and Jacque ran through the crowd and fell in stride behind Alphonse as he hurried back down the road towards Central HQ. Even though Jayson had just faced off against a full-grown, well-armed man, the knots in his stomach then were nothing compared to what he was feeling now… With a pang of dread and anticipation (and the nausea to go along with it), Jayson and his sister ran towards HQ and the State Alchemist Certification Exam - by far the hardest thing they'd had to deal with yet…


	7. The Alchemy Exams

**A/N: Hello everyone. Yusuke343 here yet again. TNFMA has some summer reading to do and will not be commenting on this chapter. Although the next chapter of this fic does not exactly go with what I had planned, I am confident you will like it (Thats the capter after this one) well, without further delay, here is ch.6!**

_Disclaimer: Neither TNFMA nor Yusuke343 own FMA though Yusuke343 does wish he did._

Jayson and Jacque ran towards the parade grounds, where a large group of men stood waiting anxiously, whispering to one another.

"Are we too late?" Jacque asked.

"I don't know…"

Suddenly a man walked up to the podium situated at the front of the crowd, flanked by another, younger man.

"Jayson, look!" the young girl squealed. "It's Edward and Colonel Mustang!""Hey, you're right!"

Mustang held up a hand for silence, and the crowd immediately replied.

"Welcome, everyone, to the final portion of the State Alchemy Exams! I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, and standing here next to me is Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist…"

A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd at the mention of Edward's name.

"… We will be judging the practical skills portion of the exam, designed to test your actual use of alchemy," Ed continued. "You will have 30 minutes to demonstrate your skills using only the materials around you," he said, sweeping a hand out over the varied terrain - mountains of rock, groves of various types of trees, and a salt lake, to name a few of the features. "BEGIN!"

"Well, this will be easy!" Jayson said as he sauntered over to a large glacial ice-patch. He clapped his hands together, transmuting an ice sculpture of Edward and Roy heroically posing next to each other. Jayson stared at his work, critiquing it. After a while, he nodded. "Yup… one more wouldn't hurt…"

"Hmm… What should I do…?" Jacque mused as she stared first at Jayson's ice sculpture, then gazing in turn at many of the others' attempts to impress the judges.

"This'll be too good!" Jayson said with a wicked grin as he walked a few feet away to some large, carved chunks of ice. Once more he clapped his hands together, and transmuted the crystalline boulders. With a crackle of energy, a large, detailed statue of Winry and Edward kissing sprouted from the ground. "Heh-heh-heh!" Jayson chuckled. "Now I'm done…!"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Edward shouted from the podium. "TAKE THAT DOWN RIGHT NOW BEFORE I COME OVER THERE! AND I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH WINRY!"

"Jeez! You sure take it rather hard for somebody who isn't in love…" Jayson noted.

"FINE THEN! KEEP IT UP! SEE IF I CARE!" Edward shouted, red-faced.

Roy laughed outrageously. "He sure got you, Ed! You know, I think I like this kid…"

Over 20 minutes later the alchemists were finishing up their work, while Jacque had yet to start… Beads of sweat dripped down her face. "Errr… Nooo! I can't fail!" she cried.

"Hmm… Well, I must say that thus far the only alchemist worth any notice is the kid down there with the ice sculptures…" Mustang said as his eyes roved the parade grounds.

"I'm curious to see what his sister is going to come up with…" Edward replied, also taking in each of the alchemist's works…

Jacque paced back and forth, brow furrowed in concentration. Suddenly her head shot up. "I got it!" she said as she snapped her fingers. "Colonel Mustang, sir?" she called out.

Roy and Edward both looked over at her with bemused expressions. "Yes?" the Colonel asked.

"Permission to attack you, sir!" Jacque said with a smile.

Roy blinked. "Heh," he said. "Well, why not… at the very least, this should be interesting," he said with a small, smug smile. Edward looked up at him. "Mustang, you're not serious, are you…?"

"Sure I am, Ed."

Jacque smiled up at him. Mustang looked her dead in the eyes. "Granted," he said as he raised a gloved, deadly hand.

"Engarde!" she shouted as took the staffs off of her back and brandished them.

Jayson laughed out loud, causing Edward even more confusion. "This," Jayson snickered, "is going to be good…"

"What…?" Edward asked before his attention was turned away by a large explosion from Roy.

"Go for it, sis!" Jayson shouted.

"That won't work against me!" Jacque cried out, unperturbed, as the flames raced towards her. She tightened her grip on the dark blue staffs, activating a red transmutation circle on each one. The staffs extended to almost 3 feet and length and became charged with an intense electrical energy. Jacque ran up to meet the flames, and with a great shout sliced through them.

"What the hell?" Mustang said, stunned. He gritted his teeth and sent off yet another stream of flames. Jacque ran towards them again and, yet again, tore through them, this time leaping up onto the platform to hit Mustang square in the chest.

"Argh!" Roy yelled as he doubled over. Edward ran over to help him - a shock of electricity to the chest was certainly no laughing matter.

Jacque just stood there stoically, on the outside appearing to wait patiently for Mustang to give her some sort of reaction, while inside she was nervous and scared that maybe she had taken it a bit too far…

"Damn, kid…" Mustang said with a groan as he got to his feet. He gave her a pained grin. "Well, time is up, and you, young lady, have managed to impress me!"

Jacque gave a sigh of relief and grinned, despite herself.

"So, Colonel," Ed asked, turning towards Roy, "am I to assume that there are going to be two State Alchemists selected this year?"

"That would be correct, Fullmetal," Roy said with a grin. "You! The ice kid and the electric girl!" Roy called out with a wince. "Come with me…" he said before walking off towards his office.

Jayson and Jacque followed him like they were told, both anxious and excited.

Ed watched them go back into the building, hands on hips and a small grin on his face. He closed his eyes and turned around to face the other potential State Alchemists - the smile was gone. "Alright!" he barked, "The test is over! You can all go home now!"

Everyone blinked up at him, dumbfounded.

Ed turned red. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he shouted.

All the men suddenly came to their senses and began to scramble for the exits, knocking into each other as they did so… none of them wanted to incur the wrath of the Great, however puny State Alchemist, Edward Elric…


	8. The Interview

**TNFMA: Hello, everyone! Long time no see! Now, I know what you're all thinking: "It's about time!" (Or something of that nature, but with minor expletives thrown in…) But before I get into anything else, I just wanted to say one thing: everyone you ever meet will tell you that your junior year of high school is your hardest – well, you know what? They're f-ing WRONG! … So… much… homework… Sob! Now, on to other things: FORGIVE ME! I'm so sorry! It's been so long since I even touched this story, let alone did anything fan fiction related! I just recently updated my own fics! And they hadn't been updated in months! I'm such a bad person! I'm so sorry! Please, all you wonderful readers, forgive me! I had my whole Saturday lined up for fan fiction (until the homecoming dance, that is…) but then – I know you guys are probably thinking that I make all this sort of crap up, but I'm serious – I have the worst luck with computers! Especially when I need them to work! – my monitor blew out… yup! Saturday morning I wake up, turn on the computer, and… nothing… It's running, all the little blinky lights are doing their little blinky thing, but the screen is about as dark as Jay's soul… (just kidding! Heehee!) So, basically, I couldn't even get on my computer until about late Sunday evening – which also really sucked b/c I had three – count 'em, three – essays to write for my AP History class… speaking of which, I have a quiz in that tomorrow, so I'm going to hurry this along! Once again, I'm sorry to everyone – readers and co-author alike! If you want to send a message to berate me, fine, but please try and keep in mind that Yusuke343 and myself are real people with real "jobs" – as students! We don't get paid for this, and b/c we don't, our stories have to take a back seat to everything else we do! Now, please enjoy while I go beat my head against a wall! (I find that if my brain is numb I can't feel any pain… kids, don't try this at home! Now, let's check the agenda… urk! Ok… so the history test is on Friday, not Thursday… but the government test is tomorrow… and I don't have that book with me… shit… Oh well! Tra-la-la! On with the story!)**

At Central Headquarters in the office of one Roy Mustang:

"So, would you two care to explain how exactly it is that you perform your alchemy?" Edward asked the two figures seated on the couch. He leaned casually against the corner of Roy's desk, prompting Mustang to have to clear his throat loudly so that Ed would get off.

"Yes," Roy said happily from his seat behind his desk (it was much easier to converse with the two young alchemists when not having to crane his head around his subordinate's backside), "please explain it for us – it's obvious that you're using weapons with transmutation circles inscribed on them, but I'd like to see how much you know about the processes yourselves."

"Sure," Jayson responded, trying to sound casual. "Basically, my alchemy is based on the ability to reorganize the molecules of evaporated water in the air – I can do everything from aligning them into a certain pattern to changing the kinetic energy of the particles. Through those processes, I can create bursts of water, steam and clouds, and ice-based armor and weapons. Anything I want that has to do with water, basically."

Noting that her brother was finished (and a little red-faced), Jacque mustered up the courage to speak herself. "My alchemy is a lot simpler than my brother's," she started softly, as if unsure of herself. "All I do is create a flow of electrons using the alchemic circles on my staffs, creating an electrical current. It lets me to charge them, shocking anyone they hit, or even shoot lightning bolts," she finished, sitting ram-rod straight in her seat, staring at the Colonel as if waiting for him to pass judgment on her.

Roy nodded, impressed. "Well, it certainly seems that you two know quite a bit about alchemy, then," he said kindly, smiling at the two teens before him, trying to make them more at ease.

"If that's the case, then, Colonel, I guess all that's left now is for you to assign your new State Alchemists their official names," Edward told him simply. He was trying so hard to not show his anger at having to be stuck with the Colonel in one room for so long…

Mustang looked at the clock on the opposite wall. He stood up. "It's getting late," he told them. "Why don't you two go and get some rest? We can take care of the rest tomorrow."

Jacque and Jayson looked at each other. They both silently agreed that this was not necessarily a bad thing, and, smiling, they turned towards Roy with a chorus of "thank you, sir!"

Ed walked over to the door and opened it. Sitting in a small chair across the hall was Alphonse, waiting patiently so that he could escort the siblings to the military hotel that they would all be staying at. Ed smiled at his brother. "Ok, Al, they're all yours! I'll be home later, ok?"

"Sure, brother," Al responded. He turned towards Jacque and Jayson. "Hey, guys! Congratulations! Everyone told me that you did really well!"

"Thanks, Al!" Jacque said, blushing.

Jayson laughed. "Really? That's great! Did you hear that, sis? We're already famous!"

Alphonse laughed at that. "Just as long as you have a better reputation than Brother's! Now follow me! You guys need your rest!"

Jayson's stomach gurgled. "Uh, hey, Al? Do you mind if we stop somewhere to eat first?"

"Sure, no problem! Let's get going then, before everywhere closes!" Alphonse said kindly as he ushered the two down the hall, closing the door to the Colonel's office behind him.

Edward waited until he heard the lock click, then turned to Roy. "So, what did you think?"

Roy sat back down in his chair, choosing his words carefully before replying. "They seem quite capable, and pretty powerful. I'm not sure if they can handle being "dogs of the military," though.

Ed nodded to show his understanding. "Maybe, but I do think that they have what it takes to make it."

"Perhaps… But only time can tell us that for sure, Fullmetal… Only time can tell…"

**Yusuke343's original author note when he first sent me the outline for this chapter: A/N: Sorry if Ed and Mustang were a bit ooc at the end there..I couldnt really figure out how to end it so I just kinda winged it lol. For those of you who didnt understand about how Jayson performed his alchemy let me simplify it for you. He can control the particles of water in the air,changing their motion and alignment to form things of his choice.**

**The New FMA's ending A/N: Ok, I know that was short, but keep this in mind: a) I was going off of Yusuke's original chapter 2 – this was the end of it. All in all, "fleshed out," the entire original ch. 2 was 10 pages long… b) I've had such a hectic schedule that I haven't been able to write anything lately – right now I'm trying to ease myself back into it, and start small and build my way back up to the 15 page chapters I had going for a while there (on other projects)… Yeah… Hope you liked it! Hopefully there'll be more to come soon – my computer is being replaced this weekend (FINALLY! This one has given me so many problems…), and I'm in the process of transferring all of my files to memory sticks. Whether or not Yusuke receives another update from me this weekend depends on if I can get my new computer up to date in time and my college applications finished! Ugh… **


	9. Memories and Names

**A/N: Hi again everyone...Hyrulian Hero Akai here (Yusuke343) I changed my pen name to be more original lol. Anyways, I promised this would be getting more and more my work well it begins now. TNFNA and I both worked together on this so it is equally both our work instead of mostly hers. If you need that explained better feel free to PM me or her.**

**Enjoy!**

Jayson yawned and stretched as he slowly got out of bed. The pain from his auto-mail was now just a dull ache.

At last...the day is finally here... the day I officially become a state alchemist. Mom, we're doing this for you, he thought. Looking over at Jacque, he noticed that she was still sleeping and decided not to wake her.

Jacque began to stir in her sleep. Jayson, concerned, walked over to hear her mumbling something.

"Please...no..." she started.

"Jacque?" Jayson asked quietly.

"Let go..."

"She's dreaming...I wonder what about."

"Chris...let..."

Jayson's face paled at the name she spoke. Chris...our brother.

--------

A young woman about in her 30's with blonde hair with pink streaks in it is walking down the street with her three children: two boys and a girl. The girl has blonde hair and blue eyes; the older boy has wild, dark blonde hair and blue eyes; and the younger boy has flat, dark blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Stay close, Jayson," the woman says.

"Ok, mommy," he replies.

"Mommy, I'm too tired to walk anymore," the young girl says.

The woman smiles and turned to the older boy. "Chris, will you pick up Jayson so I can pick up Jacque?"

"Sure, mom."

"Thank you, Chris," she replies as she bends down to pick up Jacque.

"But I want mommy to pick me up!" Jayson protests.

"Honey, I can't carry Jacque and you. Let your big brother carry you, ok?"

"Alright, mommy."

"Now, we need to move a bit faster so we can get you two home and into bed, so hang on."

"Ok," they both reply with grins plastered on their faces.

After only a few more minutes of walking, they hear a voice coming out of the shadows.

"Well, well, isn't this a pretty picture. Lilly Kensei and her little brats all walking home together. I could just barf," it said.

"Who are you, and where are you?" Lilly called.

What appears to be a young man with wild green hair, dressed all in black, steps out of the shadows. "Awww, you don't remember me, 'Spirit Alchemist?' I'm hurt."

Lilly quickly looks the young man over and notices the symbol of the Ouroboros on his leg. "You!"

The stranger smirks. "So, you remember me. Good, this will make things even more fun."

"Envy! What do you want with me?"

"I want you to make a Philosopher's Stone for me."

Lilly tuns to her kids. "Get behind me, quickly!"

The kids quickly do as they are told.

"Envy, I told you last time! I will never make a monster like you a Philosopher's Stone!"

"I guess I'll have to make you!" Envy shouts as he charges at Lilly.

"Chris! Take your brother and sister and get out of here NOW!" she screams.

"Right!" Chris picks Jacque up and begins to run towards their house with Jayson still on his back. "Hang on, you two!"

"What about mommy?" Jayson asks.

"Don't worry, she'll catch up," Chris says as he increases his speed even more.

Within a few minutes, they have reached the house where they live.

"Isn't mommy coming?" Jacque asks, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be here real soon. Now let's get inside and wait for her," Chris says as he wraps his arms around Jacque, trying to comfort her.

After he says this, a blood-curdling scream pierces the night air. All three children recognize it as their mother's. Jayson and Jacque begin crying uncontrollably.

"MOMMY!!!" they both scream.

--------

"MOMMY!!!" Jacque woke up, screaming.

Jayson came running from the bathroom with nothing but a towel covering him. "Jacque! Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

Jacque nodded slowly. "Yeah...I think so. I just had a nightmare, though."

"Was it about mom?"

She nodded again. "Yes...the night when she died."

Jayson pulled Jacque in closer. "I know...it was scary...but it was just a dream this time."

"I know...it just seemed so real." She pulled her brother into a hug and started sobbing into his chest.

"You gonna be ok, sis?" he asked as he began to gently rub her back to try and calm her down.

"Yes. I think so," she said in-between sobs. "I think I'm going to go take a shower."

Jacque released Jayson, got up off the bed and walked into the bathroom. Jayson sighed and began rummaging around in the drawers next to the bed for something to wear. A few minutes later he had decided on his trademark red shirt with a black dragon in the center, his black pants and his black cape with red trim. Reaching deeper into the drawer, he removed a red sheath with intricate golden symbols on it, similar to the ones on the sword hilt of the blade that he placed into the sheath, which he then put on his back.

_I haven't worn this outfit since..._

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Putting one hand on the hilt, he walked towards the door.

"Who is it?"

A familiar voice came from the other side of the door. "It's me and Al. You wanna let us in?"

Releasing the grip on his hilt, he unlocked the door and let the two alchemists inside.

"Please tell me you two are ready to go?" Ed asked, his eyes darting around rapidly.

"Well, I am, but Jacque is in the shower."

As he said that, the lock on the bathroom door clicked open and Ed nearly jumped out of his skin. Jayson and Al couldn't help but laugh at the panicky State Alchemist. Jacque emerged from the bathroom dressed in a pink shirt with a lightning bolt in the center and blue pants. Edward breathed a sigh of relief when he realized what had made the sound.

"Brother is afraid that Lieutenant Hawkeye is going to come looking for us if we're late," Al explained.

"I just need to grab my staffs," Jacque said as she walked over and picked up the carrying case she used for her trademark weapons. She secured them into the holster on her back. "Alright, I'm all set - let's go."

Walking out the door, the group began their trek down the crowded streets of Central to HQ. It didn't take long for them to reach Mustang's office once they arrived. However, they weren't the only ones there. A fairly skinny, eccentric-looking man of medium height stood talking to Mustang.

"So Colonel, do you see now why I need my own laboratory?" he asked.

Mustang nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I can certainly see your point. Saiko, for now you have permission to use the basement of HQ as your lab until we can raise the funds to build one."

"Thank you, sir!" Saiko saluted Mustang and walked out of the room.

Turning to see the alchemists in his doorway, Mustang beckoned them inside. "Ah, Fullmetal. Right on time. I'm impressed you managed to get here so fast on those shrimpy little legs."

Ed exploded. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU CAN'T SEE THEM WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS?"

"He didn't say that, brother," Al reminded him, beginning to get exasperated at Ed's raging temper.

"Calm down, shrimp," Mustang said coolly.

"LET ME AT HIM!!" Ed screamed.

"Brother, don't!" Al grabbed onto Ed's collar to prevent him from doing anything he might regret.

Mustang began laughing uncontrollably until he distinctly heard a faint clicking sound behind him, indicating that his personal watch dog, First Lieutenant Hawkeye, was ready to shoot if he did not get back to business.

"A-hem." Jayson cleared his throat to alert the Colonel to his presence.

"Oh, right. I forgot you were there, for a second."

Jayson and Jacque fall over in classic anime style.

"So, we get our names today, right?" Jacque asked timidly.

"That's correct. Lieutenant, would you hand them their papers?"

Hawkeye, who had been standing behind Mustang with a gun to his head the whole time, picked up some papers from his desk and handed them to the alchemists

"Those papers contain your new State Alchemist names. Please open them and read them," Mustang explained.

Jayson read his first. "'Jayson Kensei, by order of Fuhrer King Bradley you have been given the alias: "The Hydro Alchemist."' Heh...I like it."

"'Jacqueline Kensei, by order of Fuhrer King Bradley you have been given the alias: '"The Lightning Alchemist."' It fits me perfectly."

"Congratulations. This is actually one of the few times that two people were assigned at once. From now on, I, Colonel Roy Mustang, will be your commanding officer, and you will recieve all the benefits of the Military."


	10. He's Back

**A/N: Hi everyone, sorry it's taken so long to update but TNFMA went to college and I, Hyrulian Hero Akai -- formerly known as Yusuke343 have had a major writers block on this fic sorry again but hopefully this chapter will make up for it.**

Colonel Roy Mustang sighed. He had just completed his work of giving the two new state alchemists their titles, and yet Riza Hawkeye wouldn't stop pointing a gun to his head.

"You know Hawkeye, I'm sure I can find a rule somewhere about not being able to hold a superior officer at gunpoint," he said.

"Somehow, sir, I doubt that," Hawkeye responded.

"Um, Colonel Mustang, sir, do you need some help?" Jacque asked.

"I'm not sure what you would be able to do, but yes, a little help would be appreciated," Roy answered, slightly bemused.

Jacque turned and looked at Al, an evil glint in her eyes. "Al, can you come here a minute?"

"Sure." Al nodded his head and walked over to where she was standing. "What's up?"

"Stand right there," she told him, removing one of her staffs and charging it before spinning it around in front of Al's chest plate.

Riza shot Jacque a funny look. "What exactly is that supposed to do?"

Suddenly, her guns started shaking in her hands, and then she couldn't hold onto them any longer and they flew over to Al's chest and stuck there.

"Alphonse, give me back my guns!" Riza commanded.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Al said, attempting to remove the guns. "They won't come off!" he exclaimed.

Riza began walking towards Al, a menacing look in her eyes. "Here,

Alphonse, let me help you."

"No! Stay away!" Al screamed as he ran from the room.

"Damn it, Alphonse! Get back here with my guns!" she bellowed after him as she gave chase.

Ed began laughing hysterically. "Ha ha! Run Al, run!" he shouted out the door.

After the shock of what had just happened passed, Ed finally stopped his laughing and turned his attention to Mustang.

The Colonel looked back and forth between the two new state alchemists who stood before him and the seasoned one who stood a few feet behind

them who was now casting nervous glances at the door, debating whether or not to chase after Riza Hawkeye and his brother, or stay put and possibly give the colonel an opportunity to make fun of his height. As if reading Ed's mind, Mustang stared straight at him. "Shut the door, Fullmetal." he ordered. "It's too loud out there."

Ed glared at Mustang for a moment but obeyed the order.

"Now then, first order of business," Mustang began as he held up two silver pocket watches. "These are your official state pocket watches. They will amplify all your alchemic reactions," he explained, handing one to Jayson and one to Jacque. "I also have your first assignment here," he continued, sliding a file towards them along with a picture of the man they had seen earlier. "For a month now, this man has been evading military capture. He is a serial arsonist, and that's about all we know. You are to hunt him down, and bring him in for arrest. Is that clear?"

Jacque made an audible gasp when she saw the man's picture and nudged her brother.

"I know, Jacque. It's him, the bastard from the restaurant."

"I said, is that clear?" Mustang said, slightly raising his voice. "Hold on, you know this man?"

"We ran into him at the restaurant where Alphonse took us to eat,"

Jacque explained.

"I see. Well that seems like a good place to start, then. Fullmetal, knowing how dangerous this criminal is, I want you to work with Hydro and Lightning on this one. Now, AM I CLEAR?"

"Yes, sir!" they all responded sharply in military fashion.

"Dismissed!" Mustang barked.

Ed, Jacque, and Jayson saluted the colonel and walked out into the hall where they saw Al still running for his life from Lieutenant Hawkeye, the guns still attached to his chest.

Ed turned to Jacque. "Exactly how long do those charges of yours last?"

Jacque smirked. "As long as I want them to, Ed."

"Well, do you think you can turn it off? I think Al and the Lieutenant have had enough," Ed told her, trying his hardest not to laugh.

"Sure thing, Ed." Jacque removed one of her staffs from its holster and extended it, charged it, and tapped Al's armour with it on his next pass, causing the guns to clatter to the floor.

Al said a quick thank you before continuing to run from the enraged Riza. After Al was out of sight, Hawkeye came running around the corner. She noticed her guns on the floor, picked them up, and pointed them at Jacque.

"I will deal with you later," she threatened, breathing heavily. "For now I have to make sure the colonel does his paperwork." With that, she stormed down the hall and into Mustang's office. Seconds later, several gunshots were heard.

Jacque flinched at the sound of the shots. "Is she always like this?"

Ed grinned. "Nah, this is a good day for her."

Jayson grimaced. "Oh, wonderful. I swear that woman isn't right in the head."

This comment caused Ed to burst into laughter. "Yeah? Why don't you tell her that and find out what happens."

"I don't feel like getting a bullet in me so this stays between us, right, Ed?"

"Yeah, sure, but now we need to get started on our assignment, so let's find Al and get going."

Jayson shot Ed a funny look. "Won't the guy freak out if he sees a giant suit of armour coming at him?"

Ed thought for a second. "That is a good point. The guy probably would run if he saw Al coming. All the same, I don't like to leave Al behind."

Jacque nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. I don't like going places without my brother, either."

"Al, lets go!" Ed called to his brother as they passed the library on the way out. "We have orders from Colonel Matchstick!"

"Coming, brother!" Al called back before exiting the library he had chosen to hide from Hawkeye in.

On the way out, Ed explained the assignment to Al.

Once outside, Jacque began looking around. "Where should we start?" she asked nobody in particular.

An explosion was heard from down the street, and soon they saw flames coming out of the tops of several buildings. The group exchanged quick looks before racing towards the fires.

The man Jayson, Jacque, and Al had seen earlier stood laughing as he watched the buildings burn. "Ha ha ha! Yes! Burn, burn, burn!" he laughed.

"That's him, brother!" Al declared as they closed in on the man.

The man stopped laughing as the group drew closer to him. "What do you brats want?" he asked.

"We're here to capture you and bring you in for trial!" Jacque said defiantly.

"Ha! Many state alchemists have tried, but none have managed so far!" He eyed the group for a minute before pointing an accusing finger at Jayson. "You're the brat from the diner!"

"Really? I never would have recognized your ugly mug again," Jayson replied sarcastically.

"I'll make you pay for that smart remark!" the man shouted.

Ed was about to run forward, but Jayson stopped him. "I can handle this guy on my own, Ed. I did it once, let me do it again."

Ed nodded. "Alright, he's all yours."

"Thanks, Ed. Besides, there's something I've wanted to try since I saw you do it."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Ed asked.

"This!" Jayson clapped his hands and transmuted his auto-mail arm into a blade. "This feels kinda weird," he said.

"This time I brought some friends along!" The strange man whistled and three figures jumped down from the roof of a nearby building. The first two were males. One appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen and had shoulder-length black hair, and his right arm and left leg didn't look like they belonged with the rest of his body.

The second had a sickly green color of hair that was separated into thick long locks that went down most of his back.

The final figure was a female with curly black hair going down to her back and claw-like fingers.

"Well, well. I wasn't expecting to see the Fullmetal pipsqueak. Must be my lucky day," Envy said, glaring at Ed.

"I AM NOT A PIPSQUEAK!" Ed yelled back.

"Look! He brought some friends with him this time!" Wrath chimed in.

"Remember Envy, Wrath, we need the Fullmetal boy alive," Lust reminded them.

Both Jayson and Jacque froze where they were, their faces displaying a mixture of fear and rage. "Envy?" they both asked suddenly.

"Yeah? What do you brats want?" Envy replied.

Jayson was the first to move. He drew his sheath in his non-auto-mail hand, activated the transmutation circle on it, and was suddenly holding both blades to Envy's neck. "You killed my mother, now I'm going to kill you!"

It took a second for Jacque to realize what had happened. Once she did, she removed both her staffs, activated them, and charged at Envy.

Envy kicked Jayson's hand and sent his ice blade soaring high into the air before kicking him in the chest and sending him flying backwards.

"What are you talking about, brat? I haven't killed anyone's mother. Lust here usually does the dirty work," he said, pointing at her. When Jacque got close, he jumped over her head and kicked her in the back, sending her flying into Jayson who was attempting to retrieve his sword out of the air.

Ed, seeing this, transmuted his own auto-mail arm into a blade and began to attack Envy while Al went to help the siblings.

"Are you ok?" Al asked as he ran up.

"We're fine," they both answered as they struggled to get to their feet.

"But," Jayson continued, "That bastard killed my mother!"

Envy meanwhile had forced Ed into a corner and was content to let Wrath continue the fighting from there. "What the hell are you talking about? I already told you brats I didn't kill your --" Envy stopped in mid-sentence, having been interrupted by another voice.

"Now Envy, tell the truth. You know it was our mom you killed. It was about twelve years ago now, I guess," the voice said.

The new voice caused Jacque and Jayson to tense again, half standing up. Their faces both were contorted in fear.

"Chris? Is that you?" Jayson asked, his voice and body shaking as he looked around.

"Why yes it is, little brother." A man dressed in all black clothing with neat short-cut black hair jumped down from the window of a building close by. He seemed to ride the wind down to the ground. He immediately picked up Jayson's ice blade and examined it. "I told you this piece of junk hilt wouldn't do you any good. You need a real sword, blade and all. Just encase it in ice and it's a lot sharper than this thing could ever be." He said, tossing it aside. "So tell me, little brother and sister, did you miss me?"

Jacque took one look at Chris and suddenly fainted. Al caught her before she hit the ground.

"Jacque?" Jayson said, as he looked down at her. "Jacque?!?"


End file.
